₦airaland Forum

You have dated a girl for 2 years, eventually she drops you for another guy. Calculate the percentage of time wasted. (20 marks)

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, yesterday, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of shielding his men from probe, saying the President was acting like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria and demanded the release of alleged authentic report of the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Fayose and Buhari
The governor described the claim by the federal government that the probe panel only looked into procurement and contracts awarded by the military between 2011-2015 because documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 were not available as a clear indication of his support for corruption.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said “it is now obvious to the entire world that anyone that is in President Buhari’s good books can never be adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s treasury.”
In another development, All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State has described Governor Ayodele Fayose’s recent petition to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to arrest the party’s Chairman, Olajide Awe, as a well orchestrated ploy to distract of Ekiti people from various criminal allegations against the governor as he “battles credibility crisis occasioned by EFCC dragnet that has exposed him as unworthy leader.”
APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, said the party decided to react to Fayose’s petition because of the innocent public who had become victims of Fayose’s “unconscionable mischief” to get away with his many misdeeds.
Governor Fayose had last week petitioned the inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, calling for the arrest of the state APC Chairman, Chief jide Awe and other members of the party who were alleged to be on the run for various offences in the state.

OWERRI—Angry reactions have continued to trail the massive destruction of residential, business outfits and public power lines in Owerri and it’s environs.
While the former Deputy Speaker, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, urged the state government to apply caution in the massive destructions, two aggrieved citizens, Anthony Amadi and Chigozie Oparaku, have approached the Federal High Court to seek redress.
Gov. Rochas Okorocha
Registered as suit number FHC/OW/CS/145/2016, the plaintiffs dragged Governor Rochas Okorocha, the State Attorney General and the State Commissioner of Police to court for alleged battery and detention.
Speaking to Vanguard yesterday, Amadi and Oparaku recalled that they were beaten for more than 30 minutes by more than 20 security details of the governor, just for daring to show them a restraining order of court against their illegal action.
“At the end, we could hardly stand or walk, and they carried us and dumped us at the Shell Camp Police Station without any medical treatment”, Oparaku fumed.
Citizen Amadi showed Vanguard his bloodshot left eye that opened with difficulty, while Oparaku showed an ugly lump on his back, all sustained during the battering.
In his reaction, the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, condemned “the untold hardship foisted on the citizenry by government, through the on-going massive destruction of people’s business outfits, as well as residential and ancestral homes in Owerri and its environs”.
Chief Ihedioha, who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Chibuike Onyeukwu, expressed regret that the multiple destruction was coming at a time the economy is down and people are finding it extremely hard to feed.

THE House of Representatives, weekend, in Bauchi State, said it had no single evidence of impeachable offences against President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking through the House Chief Whip, Alhaji Alhassan Doguwa, who represents All Progressives Congress, APC, Doguwa/Tudun Wada Constituency in Kano State, insisted that no such issue was contemplated in the House of Representatives.
Buhari-Dogara
Fielding questions from newsmen, Doguwa said: “As far as I am concerned, I am a member of House of Representatives and a principal officer of the House; the National Assembly is a twin institution; we have the House and we have the Senate. If there is any insinuation or speculation about the impeachment of Mr President in any chamber rather than the House of Representatives, that, I don’t know,
“But I want to be very straight forward to you that we don’t have such a consideration before us. That matter is not even being contemplated; it was not even at any point in time thought of. After all, we do not have any evidence of impeachable offence with which to use against Mr President.
He described as unfounded, speculations on purported impeachment plans, adding that “it is mere speculation on the street and should be left at that level.”

Sugarhugs:
Very true.

. Hahhahah abi?

Incorrect1:
VIOLENCE

. Hahahhh too funny my bro

When you answer your write the mins or seconds it take you,

Suspected gunmen stormed Iba Community in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State on Saturday evening and abducted the traditional ruler, His Royal Highness Goriola Oseni.
Witnesses said, the gunmen, numbering about 16, stormed the community in two boats and announced their presence by shooting sporadically into the air.
Although details of the attack were still sketchy as at press time, it was gathered that the gang killed a member of the local vigilante and also allegedly shot and injured the wife of the traditional ruler.
After terrorising the community, the gunmen made away with the traditional ruler and left in their boats through the river.

hartopher76:
d

my bro drop your number

Chibuike56:
Which of these ships was not one of the three taken over by colonists during the Boston Tea Party? Happy sunday with am award of 400 mtn card !!!! If you answer you answer you drop your phone number!!!

WATCH YOUR TIME ooo

Which of these ships was not one of the three taken over by colonists during the Boston Tea Party? Happy sunday with am award of 400 mtn card !!!! If you answer you answer you drop your phone number!!!

bellenornor:
Mtn how much? .. it's past 15s already and.. how do u intend giving it? D by the way

. Final answers ??

Who delivered the less famous two-hour speech that preceded Abraham Lincoln's two-minute Gettysburg Address?

What Must Happen For Nigeria To Move Forward – Obasanjo Reveals
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that for Nigerian to move forward, the Judiciary must clear the political and economic mess ravaging the country.
Obasanjo stated this in Abuja on Tuesday, July 12, at the official presentation and unveiling of a book entitled, “S.T. Hon’s Constitutional and Migration Law in Nigeria.”#
The book written by Mr. Sebastine Tar Hon (SAN), an eminent legal luminary addresses serious constitutional and legal issues of contemporary times.
He said, “With all the criticisms that have been said about the practitioners, I concur with the book reviewer that if our country must make progress, the judiciary and the law profession must have a lot to do.”
ALSO READ BENUE MASSACRE: See What Obasanjo Said
The book which consists of nine chapters and 1,229 pages excluding the preliminary pages according to the book reviewer, Professor Dakas Dakas (SAN) and Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Jos, is relevant in throwing light on controversial issues of present times particularly the crisis associated with migration in the country
“We live at a time when we grapple with conflicting judgment of courts.
“Courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction acting as lord over others, high level of impunity and high cost of governance,” Dakas said.

Let Oil Wells Dry So We will Have Rest — Okorocha tells Avengers
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has said he was among Nigerians praying that the country’s oil wells dry up, so that Nigerians could have rest.
He made this statement while having an interactive session with Imo State members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the council secretariat, on Port-Harcourt Road, Owerri, Imo State.
According to him, this would drastically reduce problems being encountered by the Federal Government and militants, particularly with the avengers that had continued to blow up oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region.
Chief Okorocha pointed out that this would assist the country greatly in the diversification of her economy to other mineral resources, mostly solid mineral and agriculture.
ALSO READ JUST IN!!! Confusion as $17.7 Billion Is Declared Missing from Buhari’s Office
According to him, the quick rush of each tier of government sharing the monthly federal allocation would be drastically reduced, because there would be nothing left to share.
He warned the people of the state not to annoy him, so that he would continue to give them the free education already introduced by his administration when he assumed office as governor in 2011.

Babatundecash:
mehn PMB is causing some people sleepless night ooo! Mitcheew to the mere minority.....even their irrelevent vote put together could not match the k^2 votes,kano and kastina.....PMB/PYO Till 2023.....no amount of threat from the already relegate minority could cost PMB The second term.

. But why can't them vow for that

Chibuike56:
I Will Revenge My Father’s Death By Striking United States – Osama Bin Laden’s Son
By Anu /
The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.
Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group’s fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled “We Are All Osama,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
“We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression,” Hamza said.
“As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.”
Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Documents recovered from bin Laden’s compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.
Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his father’s side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion pushed much of al Qaeda’s senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.
Introduced by the organization’s new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose aging leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.

gocac:
What do you expect when islam and terror is like bread and butter? Unfortunately for the young foolsh dude osama bin laden was a more intelligent man.... Than you can ever be. Americans need not waste resources on you, only me sef go tidy you, mumu!

. You his son does not believe in dieing he believe what he can destroy that can touch the American!!! Ok

I Will Revenge My Father’s Death By Striking United States – Osama Bin Laden’s Son
By Anu /
The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.
Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group’s fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled “We Are All Osama,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
“We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression,” Hamza said.
“As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.”
Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Documents recovered from bin Laden’s compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.
Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his father’s side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion pushed much of al Qaeda’s senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.
Introduced by the organization’s new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose aging leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.

Reports credited to Vanguard have it that the Niger Delta Avengers will prevent President Muhammadu Buhari from exporting crude oil from their region.The militants who have been unrepentant with their vandalisation of oil installations and pipelines in the Niger Delta region are roaring that since the president has refused to have a real dialogue with stakeholders in the region, they’ll keep stopping the president’s plans.
In fact, they have threatened that their struggle has entered an advanced phase since the president has showed that he prefers to win the battle and lose the war.
The Avengers denied the belief that they are being sponsored by ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo (recently nominated by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) as a member of its Aaron 2 Negotiating Team).
Another militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders (NDRC) has also declared that it would readily fight the Nigerian government as well as Saudi Arabia mercenaries being allegedly engaged over the natural resources of their people just as the Ijaw People Development Initiative (IPD) are insisting that the people must be allowed to make their choice.

Reports credited to Vanguard have it that the Niger Delta Avengers will prevent President Muhammadu Buhari from exporting crude oil from their region.The militants who have been unrepentant with their vandalisation of oil installations and pipelines in the Niger Delta region are roaring that since the president has refused to have a real dialogue with stakeholders in the region, they’ll keep stopping the president’s plans.
In fact, they have threatened that their struggle has entered an advanced phase since the president has showed that he prefers to win the battle and lose the war.
The Avengers denied the belief that they are being sponsored by ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo (recently nominated by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) as a member of its Aaron 2 Negotiating Team).
Another militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders (NDRC) has also declared that it would readily fight the Nigerian government as well as Saudi Arabia mercenaries being allegedly engaged over the natural resources of their people just as the Ijaw People Development Initiative (IPD) are insisting that the people must be allowed to make their choice.

Dr. Ousmane Dore, the Country Director, African Development Bank (AfDB), has earmarked $175 million for Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme (ATASP-I) as instrument for consolidating the bank’s investments in Nigerian agricultural sector.
The latest edition of the bank’s newsletter, issued by its Nigerian Country Office on Tuesday in Abuja quoted Dore as saying this at a meeting held in Kaduna Government House recently.
MORE VISIT www.facebook.com/developagrirculture
He said that in recognition of its ongoing effort to transform agriculture from subsistence to agribusiness, AfDB was invited by the leadership of Nigeria’s North-West region to review the agricultural development strategy for the region.
Dore added that another aim of the invitation was for the bank to give an overview of its ongoing and upcoming interventions in agriculture in Nigeria as they relate to the seven North-West states.
“In line with the agenda of the meeting, we (bank) have outlined the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme (ATASP-I) of $175 million as the main instrument for consolidating bank investments in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
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“Under this programme, the bank has established four Staple Crops Processing Zones (SCPZs), which cover four out of the seven North-West states – Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa,” Dore said.
Dore also outlined two upcoming projects totalling $500 million.
He said that $300 million was on Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment (ENABLE) Youth Programme and $200 million on Phase II of the ATASP.
Dore said that the forum recognised that the bank had been providing financial support to SMSE through lines of credit to several commercial banks as well as through the policy banks like Bank of Industry and NEXIM.
He added that the forum also appreciated the bank’s technical assistance to the Bank of Agriculture through grants.
Dore said that the governors expressed gratitude to the bank and its president for supporting the region.
He said that they also gave the assurance of working closely with the bank to finalise and operationalise their agriculture strategies.

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari is no longer popular like he was during the 2015 general election.
“All governments worldwide in between terms lose some degree of popularity; no question about that,” he told Punch.
“We are having harsh economic times, no question about that and that does not increase the popularity of any government. It only diminishes it to some extent. What is different is that, in our case, in spite of the harsh economic realities, the people still have full confidence, trust. See more at https://1.bp..com/-o17HYCk22ok/V4Fj6VCEbFI/AAAAAAAAF98/S2lRNIYsJJ0aAXrcKuDxYLWmPyfgWDJ0wCLcB/s1600/buhari777.png

HOW THEY MISLEAD OUR LEADERS
Fellow Nigerians, let me start by apologising for my absence on this page last week. I could not believe the torrents of comments on social media and the number of calls from friends and well-wishers from far and near enquiring about my welfare. Everyone was concerned because they know how much dedication and discipline goes into writing a weekly column. Even I sometimes wonder how I’m able to keep a date with you week in and week out.
Once in a while we all suffer from what’s often referred to as mental block. It is a writer’s affliction that makes it impossible for you to think and write meaningfully. That was exactly what happened to me and I’m glad you understood and accepted my predicament in good faith. Your love for Pendulum propels and keeps me going. Once again, I experienced that love last week and I was deeply touched. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you and may God shower you with His abundant favours always.
Thank God, I’m back this week with my weekly epistle to fellow Nigerians and Africans. You must be wondering about the title of my article today, especially the word “they” and who it refers to ultimately. You don’t have to guess too much as I will explain to you in a jiffy. The “they” are those groups of men and women who litter the corridors of power in our dear beloved country Nigeria. They are some wonderful people who understand how to manoeuvre their ways through the labyrinth of power. They are professional hijackers who know how to hold powerful people, particularly our leaders, hostage. Nigerians usually call them the cabal or Mafia or whatever nomenclature is in vogue at the time. Truth is, they exist in reality.
What is often baffling is that these folks perch like rattlesnakes and pounce at the slightest opportunity on the men of power. They inflict their poison and, sooner than later, their victim begins to behave unusually, even sometimes irrationally. The more the poison permeates the body, the more the victim sinks deeper into the abyss and onlookers begin to observe a complete transformation and transfiguration. Surprisingly, these guys were and are never around during the struggles. Once the struggle is over, they crawl out of whatever holes they were ensconced in whilst things were hot! And they soon become the greatest beneficiaries of a campaign they never partook of. Trust me, every government has them. If you ask me, it is one reason most of our governments have failed so spectacularly.
My preamble is predicated on my deep observation of what is going on in Nigeria at the moment. I can say I know President Muhammadu Buhari reasonably well even if I was a latter day convert to Buharism. But once I got hooked like a drug addict, I was ready to go the whole hog and I have never looked back. Buhari’s appeal is based on his populist credentials. We all saw him as a man of the people and a Mr Scrooge who would never waste scarce resources on frivolities. But the “they” of Nigeria have repackaged Baba to the extent that many now refer to him as the “Gucci President”. Every fashion designer’s delight, as he has become a veritable fashion trendsetter. Of course, this is not to denigrate the President because his previous austere style suits him as much as his now trendy look becomes him! The fact is that by his handsome, gangling and fit nature, the President will always appear impeccably turned out and well groomed. However, now, his paraphernalia of power has become somehow bloated and overly flamboyant as well. How are the mighty changing!
The existing theory is that President Buhari has inadvertently fallen victim of political 419ners who have persuaded him about how powerful a Nigerian President is and why he must play the part always by being overtly fashionable. I’m sorry to say that they are stylishly setting Baba up for monumental failure. I expect their agents to swarm the internet and abuse anyone who dare say anything about the grand scam currently going on but it won’t be strange. Every government I have known since I became an adult had such acolytes to sing their praises and hold them up as infallible. But no sooner than the baton of power changes than they disappear only to reappear sometime and somewhere in the no distant future screaming adulations of the unsuspecting new leader.
I vividly remember the period of the Shehu Shagari Presidency. The poor teacher and humble farmer could do no wrong. There was a popular Yoruba song specially composed and sang for him: “Oluwa lo yan Shagari, Shehu Shagari…” Shagari’s apotheosis was instantly assured. Those who saw the rot in the outlandishly profligate government were tagged dangerous dissidents and told to shut their traps up. Wole Soyinka, our own William Shakespeare, was one of the most vociferous critics at the time.
As days climbed days and months rode on months, the Shagari government became neurotic and saw enemies everywhere real or imagined. Out of fear for its safety and stability, the Nigeria Police Force was over-militarised as if in competition with the Nigerian Army. We watched incredulously as the police under the iron grip of probably the most powerful Inspector-General Police Nigeria ever employed, Mr Sunday Adewusi, became ostensibly omnipotent. The Shagari government controlled the heavens and the earth. The 1983 general elections was the last straw that broke the back of that government.
The end came on December 31, 1983. A terse announcement by a relatively unknown soldier at the time, named Sani Abacha, shattered the invincibility of the Shagari regime into smithereens. A new Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari and his ‘deputy’, Babatunde Idiagbon were promptly installed. They in turn wasted no time in pronouncing the direction of their government which was predicated on ‘war against indiscipline’ (WAI). That war encapsulated everything that was wrong with Nigeria. While it was a worthwhile, expedient and necessary move, the government failed to understand the complexity of Nigerians. Our people love the concept of change in the metaphysical sense but not in any way that hurts them and their families or friends. That was the reality that soon hit Buhari and Idiagbon like thunderbolts. While they were busy jailing and punishing the corrupt politicians, they were undoubtedly amassing enemies. They were goaded on by fifth columnists within and before long, it was time to strike. The end came on August 27, 1985.

HOW THEY MISLEAD OUR LEADERS
Fellow Nigerians, let me start by apologising for my absence on this page last week. I could not believe the torrents of comments on social media and the number of calls from friends and well-wishers from far and near enquiring about my welfare. Everyone was concerned because they know how much dedication and discipline goes into writing a weekly column. Even I sometimes wonder how I’m able to keep a date with you week in and week out.
Once in a while we all suffer from what’s often referred to as mental block. It is a writer’s affliction that makes it impossible for you to think and write meaningfully. That was exactly what happened to me and I’m glad you understood and accepted my predicament in good faith. Your love for Pendulum propels and keeps me going. Once again, I experienced that love last week and I was deeply touched. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you and may God shower you with His abundant favours always.
Thank God, I’m back this week with my weekly epistle to fellow Nigerians and Africans. You must be wondering about the title of my article today, especially the word “they” and who it refers to ultimately. You don’t have to guess too much as I will explain to you in a jiffy. The “they” are those groups of men and women who litter the corridors of power in our dear beloved country Nigeria. They are some wonderful people who understand how to manoeuvre their ways through the labyrinth of power. They are professional hijackers who know how to hold powerful people, particularly our leaders, hostage. Nigerians usually call them the cabal or Mafia or whatever nomenclature is in vogue at the time. Truth is, they exist in reality.
What is often baffling is that these folks perch like rattlesnakes and pounce at the slightest opportunity on the men of power. They inflict their poison and, sooner than later, their victim begins to behave unusually, even sometimes irrationally. The more the poison permeates the body, the more the victim sinks deeper into the abyss and onlookers begin to observe a complete transformation and transfiguration. Surprisingly, these guys were and are never around during the struggles. Once the struggle is over, they crawl out of whatever holes they were ensconced in whilst things were hot! And they soon become the greatest beneficiaries of a campaign they never partook of. Trust me, every government has them. If you ask me, it is one reason most of our governments have failed so spectacularly.
My preamble is predicated on my deep observation of what is going on in Nigeria at the moment. I can say I know President Muhammadu Buhari reasonably well even if I was a latter day convert to Buharism. But once I got hooked like a drug addict, I was ready to go the whole hog and I have never looked back. Buhari’s appeal is based on his populist credentials. We all saw him as a man of the people and a Mr Scrooge who would never waste scarce resources on frivolities. But the “they” of Nigeria have repackaged Baba to the extent that many now refer to him as the “Gucci President”. Every fashion designer’s delight, as he has become a veritable fashion trendsetter. Of course, this is not to denigrate the President because his previous austere style suits him as much as his now trendy look becomes him! The fact is that by his handsome, gangling and fit nature, the President will always appear impeccably turned out and well groomed. However, now, his paraphernalia of power has become somehow bloated and overly flamboyant as well. How are the mighty changing!
The existing theory is that President Buhari has inadvertently fallen victim of political 419ners who have persuaded him about how powerful a Nigerian President is and why he must play the part always by being overtly fashionable. I’m sorry to say that they are stylishly setting Baba up for monumental failure. I expect their agents to swarm the internet and abuse anyone who dare say anything about the grand scam currently going on but it won’t be strange. Every government I have known since I became an adult had such acolytes to sing their praises and hold them up as infallible. But no sooner than the baton of power changes than they disappear only to reappear sometime and somewhere in the no distant future screaming adulations of the unsuspecting new leader.
I vividly remember the period of the Shehu Shagari Presidency. The poor teacher and humble farmer could do no wrong. There was a popular Yoruba song specially composed and sang for him: “Oluwa lo yan Shagari, Shehu Shagari…” Shagari’s apotheosis was instantly assured. Those who saw the rot in the outlandishly profligate government were tagged dangerous dissidents and told to shut their traps up. Wole Soyinka, our own William Shakespeare, was one of the most vociferous critics at the time.
As days climbed days and months rode on months, the Shagari government became neurotic and saw enemies everywhere real or imagined. Out of fear for its safety and stability, the Nigeria Police Force was over-militarised as if in competition with the Nigerian Army. We watched incredulously as the police under the iron grip of probably the most powerful Inspector-General Police Nigeria ever employed, Mr Sunday Adewusi, became ostensibly omnipotent. The Shagari government controlled the heavens and the earth. The 1983 general elections was the last straw that broke the back of that government.
The end came on December 31, 1983. A terse announcement by a relatively unknown soldier at the time, named Sani Abacha, shattered the invincibility of the Shagari regime into smithereens. A new Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari and his ‘deputy’, Babatunde Idiagbon were promptly installed. They in turn wasted no time in pronouncing the direction of their government which was predicated on ‘war against indiscipline’ (WAI). That war encapsulated everything that was wrong with Nigeria. While it was a worthwhile, expedient and necessary move, the government failed to understand the complexity of Nigerians. Our people love the concept of change in the metaphysical sense but not in any way that hurts them and their families or friends. That was the reality that soon hit Buhari and Idiagbon like thunderbolts. While they were busy jailing and punishing the corrupt politicians, they were undoubtedly amassing enemies. They were goaded on by fifth columnists within and before long, it was time to strike. The end came on August 27, 1985.

I have watched with keen interest the theatrics going on in Abia State – one of the finest states that God ever created – and I have come to sad conclusion that Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji should be blamed for all that is happening. Some people may not easily understand why I have drawn this conclusion. But you will get to know as we progress in this piece.
Let me quickly state that the reason for the imbroglio in God’s Own State is not hard to locate. It was the fall out of the recent judgment by a Federal High Court, Abuja which ordered the In­dependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give Dr. Sampson Ogah, who came second in the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Certificate of Return without hesitation. The court also ordered that he should be sworn in to replace Okezie Victor Ikpeazu – the incumbent governor.
It is not the purpose of this piece to consider the legal implica­tions of what has happened or engage in any debate as to who should be sworn in or not. What this article tries to do is to locate the blame of what has happened at the appropriate quarters. And this I hope to do with every sense of justice and seriousness.
A little reminiscence will help. How did we get to where we are? I have read some of the arguments for and against the judg­ment of the High Court on the tax forgery charges against Okezie Ikpeazu, including following very diligently how events have unfolded since I left office as governor some 9 years ago, and have come to the regrettable conclusion that former governor of the state, my successor, Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji, laid the foundation for all the mess.
It started from his days as my Chief of Staff during which he committed some disgraceful acts. Unknown to many of us, Chief Orji had a hidden agenda which he pursued with ferocious deter­mination but pretentious mien. He pretended he was a team player, while deep inside he harboured some dangerous and wicked in­tentions.
One beautiful thing about my relationship with this man is that I have always treated him fairly and tried, at each moment, not to bring his iniquities to the public domain. In all intent and purpose, I never wished him any ill-luck. Rather I took him as my elder brother, a confidant and an ally. But subsequent events have since proved that he never qualified for any of these.
To be honest with you, Chief Orji was opposite of whom I thought he was. He plotted all kinds of evil against me and every­body that is connected to me. Indeed, he had a desperate agenda to ensure I never succeeded in life after serving Abia State selflessly as governor. His fear was that I would expose the wicked things he did against me, which bordered on integrity and trust.
And so, his aggression against me, even though unwarranted, was propelled by greed, haughtiness, contemptuousness, garrulity and egoism. In any case, deep inside, I did not bear (and would never) bear any grudge against him.
A. Orji’s emergence as governor was achieved with so much pain and deprivation. Many of our party people, ordinarily, did not want him to succeed me. They alleged he was a serial betrayer and a very feebleminded, egocentric person. But I did not give heed to anything they said because I thought I was dealing with a trusted friend and ally.
So, the seed for the crisis in Abia State since I left office as gov­ernor was sown by Orji as a way of entrenching himself in power perpetually and satisfy his long-strewn ambition to control the po­litical landscape of the state.
But see how things are turning upside down. I have nothing against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who emerged governor after the 2015 governorship election. Since he came on board he has tried the much he could to make significant contributions to the development of the state.
However, there are more to governance in the state than what many people see on the surface. Why are some forces bent on making the state ungovernable? Why has the state remained mo­tionless since I handed over to Orji on May 29, 2007? Contraryto some allegations in the media, particularly on social media plat­forms, I left the state better than what was handed over to me .
Sincerely speaking, we inherited a state substantially under­developed; crippled by huge debts and many months of unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities. There was nothing on ground to show for government presence when we arrived in Umuahia. Bu t we were not fazed by these challenges. Instead of crying over spilt milk we deemed it proper to trudge along. We sourced resources from private sources to steady the ship of state and chart a new course for development.
Gradually, we started restoring confidence of the people in gov­ernment and building bridges across ethnic and religious lines. By the time we had spent 4 years in office the state had witnessed massive development in every facet of the state’s economy. In fact, it took us just three months to clear the backlog of salaries and build the first set of four roads that transformed Enyimba City of Aba.
Forget all the wicked insinuations in the media, orchestrated by Orji and his cohorts, no government before or after our own delivered the dividends of democracy as much as we did. Aba for instance, received due attention. Without sounding immodest, our government built over 120 roads in the city, which propelled de­velopment and set it on the path of economic buoyancy.
What T.A. Orji did was to openly sabotage our efforts to paint us in a bad light. He forgot probably that he was digging his own grave, because the people of the commercial city will for­ever loathe his person. They see him as their worst enemy and have vowed never to welcome him to the city. Their hatred for his person has seen him severally and openly molested. Reports had it that he was almost lynched when he foolhardily attended the burial mass for the late Catholic Bishop of Aba Diocese in late 2014 when he knew quite well that the people would not want to see him.

Some elders in the Niger Delta region have come out in support of President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that his administration has done so much for them than former President Goodluck Jonathan ever did.
The elders, under the platform of Concerned Niger Delta Elders, were reacting to the renewed attacks on oil installations in the South-South region, saying that only persons and groups with ulterior motives were opposed to Buhari’s government.
National Coordinator of CNDE, Chief Ekayama Loyibo, pointed out that the bombers were working for their selfish interest and not that of the collective well-being of the region and its people.
“Our position is that Buhari means well for the Niger Delta region going by the steps he has so far taken,From what he has so far done, it is clear to us and other well-meaning Niger Delta people that Buhari is genuinely interested in the development of the area and should be encouraged by all to achieve his set agenda for the region.
“If you compare what Buhari has done for the Niger Delta region with what our son and brother, Goodluck Jonathan, did for six and a half years, you will agree that Buhari has done better in one year.
“What we therefore, owe Mr. President is to cooperate with him and encourage him and his administration to turn the Niger Delta into another Lagos and Abuja so that the crime rate would reduce.”

untold amounts of pain from war, famine, and oppression. But our worship sometimes leaves little room for emotions of lament. InThe Message of Lamentations(IVP Academic), Christopher J. H. Wright, Old Testament scholar and international ministries director for Langham Partnership International, introduces readers to one of the Bible’s most heartbreaking, poetic, and neglected books. CT editor at large Rob Moll interviewed Wright about the role of Lamentations in understanding—and protesting—human suffering.
What is the likely setting in which Lamentations was written?
Almost certainly, it is the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. It was the most traumatic moment in Israel’s Old Testament history. The writer paints a portrait of utter devastation and appalling suffering: starvation, disease, slaughter, rape, scavenging, looting, and the desecration of holy things.
Unlike in Job and many of the Psalms, God says nothing to the writer of Lamentations. What should we make of his silence?
One commentator, Kathleen O’Connor, calls God’s silence “inspired.” This resonates on three levels. First, God allows the suffering people to have their full say. He listens, without interrupting to comfort or correct. Second, the Prophets had already explained that this would happen and why. And third, although God does not speak as a character in the book, he speaks by including it in his Word, within the canon of Scripture.
How does Lamentations differ from Job or the Psalms?
Job’s suffering is clearly undeserved. In the Psalms, suffering is sometimes the result of sin, sometimes the result of wickedness of enemies, and sometimes simply inexplicable. But even though the suffering of Jerusalem happened at the hands of the evil Babylonian empire, it is recognized as the outworking of God’s judgment on moral, social, and spiritual degradation. Lamentations accepts God’s punishment while recoiling from its awful severity.
What does Lamentations offer us today?
There are people who are, at this moment, seeing murder, rape, the loss of homes and loved ones, and the destruction of holy places. For them, Lamentations describes reality. We can and should lament with them.
Lamentations, as O’Connor says, provides a bottle for the tears of the world. We cry out to God for those who suffer so terribly from the effects of sin and evil and sheer folly: in wars, racial conflicts, and all manner of injustice and oppression. Lamentations holds up to God the sheer horror of what this suffering feels like, and appeals to him to act justly, to demonstrate his faithfulness. The book affirms God’s sovereignty—his throne is still in heaven even as the devastation of his temple happens on earth—in its closing verses.
What role should a book like Lamentations play in our worship, corporate prayers, and sermons?
The absence of lament, at least in many Western churches, is a great loss. We have quietly airbrushed great swaths of the Bible from our consciousness. We sing songs based on the Psalms, but often leave out the bits about suffering or oppression. We ignore the fact that in the Psalms, “lament,” or protest, is the largest category.
So much of our worship is cover-up: pretending to have emotions we don’t really feel, or smothering the emotions we do. That is not praise. It simply leaves us to pick up our suffering again on the way out—without bringing it into God’s presence or hurling it at him in questioning (but trusting) protest. Spending time in Lamentations helps us learn how to plumb the depths of lament as well as scale the heights of rejoicing.
How has your perspective on global Christianity informed your reading of Lamentations?
I have friends and Langham Partnership coworkers in many countries where God’s people are experiencing poverty, persecution, or outright destruction. And yet I know, because they tell me, that despite these horrors, they trust God and find him at work in amazing ways.
Lamentations helps us face the world’s suffering and weep over and protest it. But it does so within the grand narrative of Scripture, with its redemptive center in the cross and resurrection of Christ, and its glorious, hope-filled climax in the new creation, in which all suffering, weeping, and death will be no more.

By Suzan Edeh
BAUCHI—THERE was pandemonium yesterday in Bauchi as hundreds of suspected political thugs attacked the convoy of Governor Mohammed Abubakar after leaving the Bauchi Eid prayer ground along Bakaro road in Bauchi metropolis.
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State
The thugs damaged the vehicle conveying the government house press centre, destroying the back screen beyond repairs.
The development, it was learned, caused a stir as the driver of the government press vehicle tried to escape to save the situation while other vehicles diverted direction, for safety.
According to an eye witness, the Governor’s convoy was attacked at Bakaro road, which is said to be a notorious haven for political thugs.
It was gathered that the thugs laid ambush at the main roads where the governor was expected to pass, chanting slogans such as “Bamayi, meaning, we are not with you, “we don’t want you as governor.”
During the attack, several youths and women were seen openly castigating the governor for allegedly failing to address the plight of the people of the state.
Even though there were no reports of arrest by the police, it took the intervention of respected individuals to calm the angry youths.
Some residents of the state, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, vowed not to support the governor for a second term following perceived failure to address the challenges of the state.
Efforts to speak with the governor’s media aide, Sabo for reaction were futile as his phones were unreachable at the time.LOL WHY THE GOVERNoR

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), on Wednesday, July 6, blasted Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media andpublicity, over his comments that the militant group killed and kidnap for no clear reasons.
Mudoch Agbinibo, the spokesperson of the group in a statement which was posted on the group’s website, while denying the allegations, asked the presidential aide to get his facts right.
Read the statement below:
“We want Garba Shehu (Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity) to go and get his record straight. Niger Delta Avengers have not killed and kidnapped oil workers, we are not into sea piracy, and we have never killed Policemen. The Buhari led Government knows the people attacking soldiers and killing policemen.
It’s their sleeper’s agents that are doing it, so they should stop tagging Niger Delta Avengers to killing, kidnapping, ransacking of policemen, soldiers and individuals in the region. We the Niger Delta Avengers have not negotiated with anyone. So we don’t know where Mr Garba shehu and General Babagana Munguno, the National Security Adviser are getting their information from.
If they have been negotiating with any body it clearly shows they had been negotiating with fraudsters and their (national security agency) created militant group.” Shehu’s statement on Tuesday, July 5, had claimed that the militant group had wreaked havoc on the nation’s oil production in recent times, throught their trade in killing and kidnapping and asking oil companies in the region to stop operating.
Part of the statement reads: “It is still unclear what they want. From the diverse, if vague and inchoate voices of the militants, some say they want to take control of the oil resources in the region.
Sometimes when the rhetoric gets uglier, they call for the breakup of Nigeria as a country!” In another development, Twitter has taken serious action against the Niger Delta Avengers account by suspending its account.
The account of the militant group was suspended on Monday, July 4. The group has also used its social media account to broadcast warnings and threats against the federal government and oil companies.
Posted by Ifeanyi Okparaeke

Newly elected President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Supo Samson Ayokunle has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to “maintain balance and keep close to the constitution,” irrespective of his religious affiliation, to avoid opening the door for lawlessness in the society.
The cleric who also criticised the enlistment of Nigeria into a coalition under the aegis of Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC), said he foresaw his election to lead Christians in Nigeria since 2015.
Ayokunle who is also, President of Nigerian Baptist Convention, made the revelation in an interview with journalists immediately after his election in Abuja. He was reacting to some national issues, including the killing of an Igbo business woman in Kano and attack on a Christian in Kaduna for allegedly eating during Ramadan.
He said: “Well, in one of these nights in October 2015, when I was doing my holiday in Houston, Texas with my wife, I had a dream that I participated in CAN presidential election and I saw a bloc that is not mine, voting for meen masse. And I woke my wife up and I said, ‘Mummy, am I going to be a candidate in CAN’s election’?
“And she said, ‘no you are not going to be in Jesus Name’. I asked ‘why’ and she said, ‘the trouble there is too much, I don’t want you for that type of trouble’. I said, ‘well life is a sacrifice and I don’t think God is a joker, He doesn’t joke.’ God is communicating something to us and I don’t think we need to reply through emotion, we need to be serious and go into serious prayers to know the mind of God concerning this matter.”
According to him, Islamic leaders should mentor their children properly and ascertain who is “radicalising their children and turning them into murderers,” and be able to teach what is right, to reduce religious intolerance.
He said: “Whenever the government is not upholding the sanctity of the constitution in terms of the secularity of our existence, the church must speak out without fear of favour. For example, we have been talking of OIC. Does the government of Nigeria have the right to take the country into OIC? Is it in keeping with the spirit of the constitution? No and when you continue to pull people, the limit is to push them to the wall, if you have been telling people to move and they move to the wall and you are still telling them move, where do you want them to move to?
"So the government of Nigeria should not take things for granted and think that Christians are fools and they will be seen to be promoting one religion above the other or favor one religion to the detriment of the other. Whenever we see that, we are going to tell them to be very careful and we are going to speak out. Who you are going to worship is a fundamental right of every individual and government is there to protect that, not to force one religion on the other.
“I want to advise the present government to maintain balance and keep close to constitution irrespective of the religious belief of those in government. The government should respect the constitution of Nigeria because if the government breaks the constitution of Nigeria on religion alone, they have already opened the door for lawlessness in the society."
Ayokunle also called on Islamic leaders to talk to their children who, he said, are not giving them honour by what they are doing.
“They (children) are bringing disgrace to the religion of Islam; we have existed together for many years without this type of development, so it is the duty of the Islamic leaders in Nigeria to look for those who are radicalising their children and turning them into murderers and be able to apprehend them and hand them over to the government or speak to them to teach what is right.
“To say that they are not Muslims is so embarrassing. So who are they? Are they Christians? Are they pagans? If they are pagans why do they owe allegiance to the Koran? Do pagans, hold Koran or owe allegiance to it.”
According to Ayokunle, the recent attack on a Christian for allegedly eating during fasting was the height of religious intolerance and bestiality.
He said, "Somebody was going to eat in the afternoon; he was not a Muslim, what right do you have to go and stab that person in a law abiding society? From where are they coming? When you are not from the bush, you are not a beast, how can you just behave like that? What is Nigeria becoming in the name of religion?
“So these are the things we must all rise to condemn. Since nobody has monopoly to guns and violence, we should not continue to provoke people. There is a theory in Psychology that instigation to aggression depends on the degree of frustration. If you continue to frustrate a people they may end up becoming aggressive, we don’t want that state.”

A breakaway traditionalist Catholic group accused Pope Francis on Wednesday of spreading confusion and errors about the faith, joining a chorus of conservative criticism over his perceived lax doctrine and emphasis on mercy at the expense of morals.
A statement from the schismatic Society of St. Pius X suggested that a new attempt at reconciliation with Rome had stalled, or that the society itself was divided over next steps and decided at least to take a hard line against Francis.
The statement, issued after a meeting of the society’s superiors, said its members weren't primarily looking for a legal resolution to their schismatic status but eager to return Catholic tradition to a church where “great and painful confusion” currently reigns.
It said errors had made their way into doctrine “that are unfortunately encouraged by a large number of pastors, including the pope himself.”
“The Society of St. Pius X prays and does penance for the pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim Catholic faith and morals in their entirety,” it said.
The late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the society in 1969, opposed to the Second Vatican Council’s modernising reforms. In 1988, the Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre and four other bishops after Lefebvre consecrated them without papal consent.
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI had made reconciling a priority, but three years of doctrinal talks collapsed in 2012. Talks resumed in 2014 and Francis met with the head of the society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, in April, signaling possible progress.
But Francis is no friend of Catholic traditionalists. He has riled them and other conservatives with a host of comments they say are sowing confusion about core church teachings on family, sex and other hot-button issues.
Francis fueled those criticisms this month during an off-the-cuff session with Rome priests and laity, where he criticised rigid readings of doctrine and suggested that he approved of pre-marital cohabitation so young couples know what they’re getting into when they marry.
“I have seen so much loyalty in these cohabitations, so much loyalty, and I’m sure that this is a true marriage, they have the grace of marriage simply because of the loyalty that they have,” he said.
Such couples, he has argued, should be accompanied by church pastors and encouraged to enter into a sacramental marriage, not shunned as people living in sin.
In its statement, the society said the resolution of its status “cannot happen without the support of a pope who concretely favors the return to sacred tradition,” but regardless it would continue working to spread the faith. (AP) PLS WHAT CAN YOU SAY